Scaling ladder



March 26, 1940. P. PIRSCH SCALING LADDER Filed 001:. 31, 1938 I ll I I.

p :ENTOR. W

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES,

SCALING LADDER Peter Pirsch, Kenosha, Wis., assignor to Peter Pirsch andSons- 00., Kenosha, Wis, a firm composed of said Peter Pirsch, W. R.Pirsch,

and Ceila Pirsch Even Application October 31, 1933, Serial No. 297,993,

9 Claims. 01. 228-51) i This invention relates to improvements inscaling ladders.

Ladders of the type with which this invention is concerned are commonlyused to scale buildings by smashing the hook at the upper end of theladder through a window above and climbing to said window. Whileclimbing, a second ladder is carried and this ladder is in turn engagedwith the Window on the next floor. Whenthe lfi fireman has obtainedfooting on the second ladder, the first is disengaged from the windowbelow and carried upwardly for engagement with a window at a thirdelevation. Thus with the use of two ladders, an ascent to any desired=5; height can be made. Climbing in this manner is, however, difiicultbecause scaling ladders as now constructed are relatively heavy so thatthe handling of one ladder while suspended on another is very dangerous.

an It is a general object of the present invention to provide animproved scaling ladder which is so constructed that it can be made fromlight weight tubular material such an aluminum whereby the weight isreduced approximately 50%. Thus the ladders can be handled moreefficiently and with much less danger.

A further object of the invention is to provide a scaling ladder whichis constructed without welding or bolts, whereby the danger of no}breakage or loosening of parts during use is minimized.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a scaling ladderwhich can be manufactured quickly with a minimum of work in as- ;rl;sembly, whereby a strong and durable ladder may be provided at low cost.j

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a scaling ladderwherein'the standard is formed of tubular metal and wherein the rungs .mextend through openings in said standard, one or more of said rungs alsoextending through a depending extension of the ladder hook to lock thelatter to the standard within the tubular upper end thereof.

4i?" A further object of the invention is to provide a ladder of thetype described wherein members for maintaining the ladder in spacedposition from a wall, are secured to the standard in a siminventionconsists of the improved scaling ladder and all its parts andcombinations 'as set forth in the claims and all equivalents thereof. Inthe accompanying drawing in which the same reference .numerals designatethe same parts in all of the views: p

7 Figure l is a front elevational view of the improved ladder; I

Figure 2 is a similar view on an enlarged scale, parts being broken awayand shownin section to illustrate the. improved construction;

Figure 3 is a side view of the structure shown in Figure 2, parts beingbroken away;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on lines 4--4fof Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 5- 5 of Figure 2;and Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line fi6 of Figure2.1

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 8 designates astandard formed of tubular material, preferably heat treated, tem

pered aluminum. The standar-dis provided with longitudinally spaced setsof transversely alined' 4 bolts. The width of the step openings is suchas to form an, exact fit for the thickness of the steps whereby thesteps must be pressed through the openings.

' A hook member 26 is preferably formed of two strips of metal .2! and28 which are juxtaposed throughout the majorportion of their length andriveted together as at 29. At the gooseneck bend 38, however, the twostrips are spread from the point 31 to the point 32 whereby additionalstrength is provided at thisportionof the ladder. The gooseneck bendconnects with va depending extension 33, which extension fits snuglyinto an elongated opening 34' at the upper end of the standard, formedby squeezing said upper end. The depending-extension 33 of the hookextends downwardly within the upper end ofthe standardfo'r a substantialdistance, and is provided with openings 35 and 36 which aline withthestandard openings 24 and I5 respectively. The uppermost rungs 24 and 23extend not only through the standard, but also through the openings 35and 36 of the hook extension to firmly look the hook to the standard insuch a manner that withdrawal is impossible.

At one or more points on the standard there are brackets 31 for thepurpose of maintaining the ladder in spaced position from a wall duringuse. These brackets are preferably formed of U-shaped metal and embracethe sides of the standard as shown in Figure 6. The embracing ends ofthe brackets are provided with openings 38 whereby rungs such as therungs l8 and 23 may extend through the openings in the brackets to lockthe brackets onto the standard.

Heretofore ladders of this type have been constructed of wood and iron,utilizing ordinary means for connecting the parts together. Theseladders were dangerous to use because the strain of carrying one heavyladder while suspended on another, made handling difiicult for thefireman. The present ladder is constructed mainly of aluminum with aminimum of parts, and the weight is approximately 50% of the weight of ascaling ladder of the same length constructed with present methods.Furthermore the improved method of connecting the hook to the standardand of connecting the steps to the standard without the use of weldingor bolts insures against breakage or loosening ofparts during use. Theladder is furthermore constructed of relatively few parts which can bequickly assembled in an inexpensive manner.

The hook member 26 and extension 33 can of course be made of a singleheavy strip, instead of two riveted together strips, with no spread at30. In this case the entire ladder structure will he rivetless.

Although only one form of the invention has been shown and described, itis obvious that various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and all of such changes arecontemplated which may come within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A scaling ladder comprising a standard having a tubular upper end, ahook having a connecting extension depending therefrom and inserted insaid tubular upper end of the standard, and a plurality of steps securedto said standard, at least one of said steps extending through thetubular upper end of the standard and through the hook extension thereinto secure the latter position.

2. A scaling ladder comprising a standard having a tubular upper end, ahook having a connecting extension depending therefrom and inserted insaid tubular upper end of the standard, and a plurality of steps securedto said standard, at least two of said steps extending through thetubular upper end of the standard and through the hook extention thereinto secure the latter in position.

3. A scaling ladder comprising a standard having a tubular upper endprovided with transversely alined openings, a hook having a connectingextension depending therefrom and inserted in said tubular upper end ofthe standard, said extension being provided with a transverse opening,in alinement with the openings of the standard, and a plurality of stepssecured to said standard, at least one of said steps extending throughthe tubular upper end of the standard and through the hook extensiontherein to secure the latter in position.

4. A scaling ladder comprising a standard having a tubular upper endprovided with longitudinally spaced sets of transversely alinedopenings, a hook having a connecting extension depending therefrom andinserted in said tubular upper end of the standard, said extension beingprovided with longitudinally spaced transverse openings in alinementwith the sets of openings in the standard, and a plurality of stepssecured to said standard, at least two of said steps extending throughalined openings of the standard and hook extension to secure the latterin position.

5. A scaling ladder comprising a standard having steps, and a hookhaving a depending portion connected to the upper end of said standard,there being a curved bend between said depending portion and hook, saidhook and depending portion being formed of two strips of metal which arespread at the curved bend and which are in direct contact throughout therest of their length and both above and below the curved bend, and meansextending through the contacting portions of the strips to secure thesame together and provide double thickness at said portions.

6. A scaling ladder comprising a tubular metal standard havinglongitudinally spaced sets of transversely alined openings, a hookconnected to the upper end of said standard, step members insertedthrough said transversely alined openings in the standard, and a bracketfor spacing the ladder from a wall, having parts provided with openingsembracing a part of the standard, with the openings in the bracketalinement with openings in the standard, one of the step membersextending through said openings in the bracket.

7. A scaling ladder comprising a standard having a tubular upper end,the tip of which is shaped to provide an elongated upper end slot, ahook member having a depending extension which is of substantially thesame cross sectional shape as the shape of said slot extending into saidslot, means for preventing withdrawal of said hook extension from saidslot, and a plurality of steps secured to said standard.

8. A scaling ladder comprising a standard having a tubular upper end,the tip of which is shaped to provide an elongated upper end slot, ahook member having 2. depending extension which is of substantially thesame cross sectional shape as the shape of said slot extending into saidslot, and a plurality of steps secured to said standard, at least one ofsaid steps extending through the upper end of the standard and throughthe hook extension therein to secure the latter against withdrawal.

9. A scaling ladder comprising a standard. having an upper end formedwith a vertical recess communicating with said end, a hook having aconnecting extension depending therefrom and inserted in said verticalrecess of the standard, and a plurality of steps secured to saidstandard, at least one of said steps extending through the recessedupper end of the standard and through the hook extension therein tosecure the latter in position.

PETER PIRSCH.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No.-2,19LL,870. March 26, 191p;

PETER PIRSCH.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 1,first column, line 25, for the word "an" read --as-; and second column,line 25, for "22 25 and" read --22, 25, and; page 2, first column,line5l, claim 1, before "position" insert --in; line 67, claim 5, strikeout the comma after "opening" and second column, line 57, claim 6, afterthe word "bracket" insert -in--; and that the said Letters Patent shouldbe read with this correction therein that the same may conform to therecord of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this lhth day of May, A. D. 19).;0.

. Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) 7 Acting Commissioner of Patents.

